A Returning Heart
by animequeen78
Summary: After 2 years of being in Scotland, Roxanne returns to Konoha. Iruka hurt her feelings in the past. Can she find the love to forgive him? Naruto also meets a girl from his past, a native from the Demon Territory. IrukaxOC NarutoxOC Naruto sibling rivalry.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_It's been 2 years since I left. I hope Naruto and the others are all right. I wonder about Iruka too. Those letters of his, begging me to come back to him, is he planning to use me again? Hmm..._ Roxanne thought to herself as she was riding an airplane home.

Roxanne was 16 years of age and was of Scottish-born nationality. She had rear-length sunlight-copper hair and large, matching eyes, sporting bifocals. Her pink lips complemented her almond complexion, which was slightly laden with freckles. She was 5' tall and 115 lbs (but she's not fat!). That day, she wore a pink & sky-blue plaid shirt (sleeves rolled halfway up her arms) with a black tank top underneath, blue jeans, loafers, and a pink headband, displaying the forehead protector with the Hidden Leaf Village's symbol on it.

2 years ago, when Mizuki became a bad guy, he threatened to kill Roxanne because she was so dear to him. Iruka told Roxanne he only pretended to love her out of pity. What she didn't know was that Iruka said that to deter Mizuki. She became broken-hearted and left the Hidden Leaf Village. Iruka secretly became depressed.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Hidden Leaf Village, Iruka was by himself, sorting documents. He thought about Roxanne and started crying with his head on the desk. He regretted unintentionally hurting Roxanne's feelings. He caught himself saying, "Roxanne! I'm so sorry! I should've just risked my life instead of taking the coward's way out of losing you! Please come back!" He was so busy feeling sorry for himself for what he did to her that he didn't realize the Third Hokage was behind him. "So, that was the real reason why you lost her. You made an attempt to protect her." He said. Iruka was afraid because he thought he was in trouble for crying as a grown man.

"Iruka, I received news that the girl is coming back. This would be your chance to tell her what really happened. If you do so, I believe she will change her opinion about you." the Third Hokage said. Iruka responded, "At least you and Naruto understand. Kakashi would've ridiculed me for my feelings for Roxanne." "That he would. And besides, Naruto misses her because she's been like a big sister to him?" the old man said. Iruka responded, "Yes. She is so dear to everyone because of her kindness. You're right. If I really do want her back, I have to tell her what happened. Thank you for the advice." Then he ran off out of the classroom.


	2. A Reunion with Old Friends

Reunion with Old Friends

Roxanne stood at the gates to the village. She swallowed and then walked through. The people living there greeted her warmly. Naruto saw her and was happy. He jumped from the scaffold where he was cleaning his graffiti off of the mountainside images, and ran towards her. He shouted, "SIS!" and jumped onto her, hanging on her like a baby koala onto its mother and nuzzles her, saying, "Siiiiiiiiiissssssssssss. I missed you!" "I missed you too, baby brother. I didn't come back alone. I brought me brother back home." Roxanne responded. Naruto said, "How's that squirt, Malcolm?" Not much later did he say that that a giant teenager boy in a kilt and tam o' shanter jumped down from a low roof and land on his feet on the groud with an earth-moving THUD!

It was Malcolm, her biological little brother, after he finally hit a growth spurt. Malcolm reached a height of 6'5 even though he was 14 years old. He had short blond hair with a cowlick in the front. His tam o' shanter had the same plate on his hat that Roxanne had on her headband. He gave Naruto a crushing bear hug and a noogie. Roxanne laughed as she saw this. She then gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek, to which Naruto responded with, "AAAAHHHHH!!!! I GOT GIRL GERMS!!! OH YUCK!!!"

"Lady Roxanne!" A voice called out. It was Iruka. _Oh no, him again? After he used me for his pleasure?_ Roxanne thought. She said in a slightly mean voice, "You again! I thought I didn't want to see you again after what you did!" "Roxanne, I want to explain what really happened." Iruka said. She snapped back, "I don't want to hear it! You hurt me enough as it is! What is it you could possbly say to make me love you again?!?" Then she stormed off.

* * *

"She still doesn't want to talk to me. I tried to explain to her what happened, but she never gave me a chance." Iruka said. He continued, "How could I be so stupid?!? I should never have said that. Now she'll never forgive me." Asuma responded, "Yeah, some girls are stubborn enough to be unappeasable. That's how Kurenai was when I tried to get a date with her. Give Roxy some time. She'll soften up sooner or later." "What I did to her won't erase with time. I hurt her feelings." Iruka said sorrowfully. Then he walked off to attempt to talk to her again.


	3. If Not Successful, Try, Try Again

If Not Successful, Try, Try Again

The next morning, Roxanne woke up to find a flower on her nightstand. "Oh, I wonder who left that there." She said with great curiosity. Then she saw Iruka's name on the tag. It said,

"_I'm sorry for what happened. I want to tell you that I really do love you and I want to tell you what really happened. I understand if you don't want me back. I admit that I hurt you. I'm sorry. Signed, Iruka." _

"Sorry my left hind foot! First he uses me, now he stalks me? What kind of fool does he take me for?" Roxanne said rather disgustedly. Then she looked out the window and saw Iruka down on the ground under her balcony. "I don't have time for your foolish games, Iruka! I'm not the little girl who used to look up to you and admire you anymore! So, get lost!" She shouted. Instead of listening to her that time, he climbed up to her. He told her, "My lady, please hear me out. When I said I only pretended to love you, that was a lie." Roxanne stood there, speechless. Then she stammered, "But, how can that be? Why?" "Because, Mizuki threatened to kill you. I couldn't bear the thought of living on while you're six feet under." Iruka responded. Then he hugged and kissed her. Then he said, "I meant every word when I said that I would do anything I can to protect you." "Oh, how could I have been so cold and cruel to you?!? I'm so sorry. If I had known that you meant that, I would've remained by your side. But I was so blind to it. I love you too." Roxanne said, sorrowfully.

Then he climbed back down, but not before kissing her on the forehead where an eight-pointed star-shaped mark was. Then Roxanne smiled, glad that their hearts were mended. Then, she got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen to fix breakfast. She managed to catch Iruka and asked him, "Don't you want to eat breakfast first?" "Sure." He replied.

The breakfast consisted of pancakes with maple syrup, toast with homemade strawberry jam, eggs, bacon, sausage, baps, tea, porridge, fresh fruit, waffles, juice, milk, coffee, and oatmeal. "Good grief, my lady! You didn't need to make me all this!" Iruka said, shocked at the massive breakfast before him. "It's just my way of making it up to you. I apologize for being so mean to you." Roxanne said. She went back to make some more breakfast for Naruto and Malcolm. Later the two boys came by for breakfast. Naruto shouts, "I SMELL BREAKFAST!!!" and the two gobbled up their own portions. THen Roxanne sat to eat her breakfast. Ino popped up from the window and said, "Good grief, Roxy. You realize you're gonna get fat one day from eating this offal? Oh, wait, you already did! Hahaha!" Iruka scowled at her opprobrium. Then Sakura popped up and said, "Yeah, but you're the one who's gonna grow up alone without friends with how you treat others! One rule about respect: Treat others the way you want to be treated." "You go, girl!" Roxanne commented.

Later, they did some combat training. Roxanne was their instructor. They were learning martial arts. "Rule #1: Do not make the first move, especially one in rage, because then your opponent can overpower you." Roxanne stated as she flipped Kakashi over during a martial arts demonstration. "Rule #2: Always keep an eye on your opponent to spot their weaknesses." She said as she was dodging blows from Might Guy and then did a low roundhouse kick, which caused him to be tripped. He laid there on the ground with a look of disappointment that a ninja younger than him kicked his butt. "Good demonstration, Roxanne." The Third Hokage said, pleased that Roxanne had taught successfully.


	4. The Proposal

The Proposal

That evening, Roxanne was looking at the evening sky from the balcony. Iruka walked up from behind her. "A beautiful sight, isn't it?" He said. Roxanne responded. He said, nodding, "This day can't get any better, can it?" Then, fireflies started swarming all over the place. "It just did." Roxanne said. Then they sat down on a bench on the balcony. Then Iruka said, "We've known each other for 16 years and there's a time when a man has to tell his love how he feels about her, and well, I came to a decision." "What are you talking about?" Roxanne asked. Then Iruka, took out a small box and opened it in front of her. In it was a small ring with a diamond in it. He asked her, "Roxanne, will you marry me?" Roxanne was left awestruck by his proposal. The she replied, excitedly, "Yes! Yes! I will marry you!" And gave him a big hug. Then she gave him a long kiss. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you to ask me that?" She asked. Iruka nodded.

Meanwhile, Naruto was hiding in the bushes when he heard this. He couldn't hold his excitement any longer. He shouted, "Yes!!! Ha ha ha! She said yes!" "AWOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Booyah!!!!!! That's awesome!!" Kiba howled, while Akamaru yapped happily. Roxanne and Iruka jumped when they heard the ruckus. "Naruto? Kiba? That was you guys?" "Yeah" Naruto said, laughing sheepishly. Kiba remarked, "Oh yeah? And what is Akamaru, chopped liver?" Akamaru barked. "We were too happy about you both getting married to suppress it." Naruto explained. "I guess not everyone can suppress being happy about anything." Iruka shrugged.


	5. The Distress Call

A Distress Call

All of a sudden, Kakashi pops up out of nowhere from a cloud of smoke. He had an upset look on his face. "What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi replied, "This is urgent news. The Hokage will fill us in on the details. The Demon Territory is in danger. She'll tell you what's going on."

* * *

They went to Tsunade's office. "I heard about some kind of emergency with the Demon Territory. Can you fill us in?" Naruto asked. A large group of Naruto's friends were there too. Tsunade replied, "That's what I'm going to do. One of the members of the Kitsune Tribe is rebelling against the Fox Queen. He is Chaplain Tatsuki. As we speak, he is carrying out his plot for a coup d'etat. Many of the other members of the tribe are against him. But they still need our help. Their numbers are dwindling rather quickly. Orochimaru is helping him." "What?!? That is terrible!! We will help them without complaints!!" Lee said with great enthusiasm. "Heh, you can count me in, Grandma Tsunade!" Naruto said. "So, it's settled. We'll go." Neji said rather calmly.

Then they set off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was standing over a cliff with a black kitsune sitting next to him. The black kitsune was Chaplain Tatsuki. "Beautiful, isn't it? The sound of their suffering is music to my ears." Tatsuki said, with gleefully sadistic tone in his voice. "Yes, it is quite pleasing to the senses. You won't forget your favor to me though, will you?" Orochimaru said. Tatsuki responded, "To assist you in taking over Konoha? Of course, even with the intent behind usurping the Queen, I am a fox of my word." "Good, then. Our deal is still valid." Orochimaru said.


	6. Trek To The Demon Territory

Trek Through The Demon Territory

Naruto and his friends arrived in Demon Territory. Roxanne cautioned, "Now, shinobi, the Demon Territory is a very dangerous region. We need to take caution not to offend the natives."

Meanwhile, someone was hiding in the bushes. However, she was found out by Naruto. "Hey, I found one of the natives here!" She ran off. Naruto chased after her. He shouted, "Hey! Wait up!"

She bore a strong resemblance to Naruto. She, too, had wild blond hair and blue eyes, although her hair was shoulder-length and her eyes donned longer eyelashes. She also had the whisker-like markings on the sides of her face, just like Naruto did. She wore what looked like tribal clothing. She was also the same height.

Her path of flight ended when she stopped at a waterfall. She became horribly frightened. But when she saw that Naruto was someone they had been looking for, she approached him, with a cautious start. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled the shoulder she rested her head on. Naruto said, confused, "Okay, I'll bite. Do I even know you?" The girl backed off and lowered her head in apology. She then said, "You do not remember me? I guess the time has been too long for us to have parted, Naruto." Then she put her hand on his hand, their palms facing each other. Then, ZASH! He reacted like a memory had come back spontaneously. He muttered, "Mikame." Then he said, "Wait, is it really you?" Mikame responded, "You finally remember. When new memories are made, the oldest ones we have are buried, until something from those memories give the spark that ignites a nostalgia fulfilled." "Wha-?" Naruto said, baffled at the prattle about old and new memories. Then he heard voices call, "Naruto!" The two go to the rest of the group.

When they returned, the others saw that Naruto and Mikame were holding hands. Kiba snickered, then he teased, "Hey, Naruto, is that your girlfriend?" "Aw, shaddup, Dog Boy!" Naruto snapped back. Then he continued, calmly, "This is Mikame. She was my friend when we were VERY little." "She was? We never met her." Sakura said, confused about who the girl was in front of them. "Well, she looks a lot like you." Kakshi said. Then Iruka said, "Let's get back to our mission here: Stop Chaplain Tatsuki from devastating the Kitsune Tribe."

Later, at night, when the shinobi were camping, Naruto was sitting next to Mikame, teaching her how to make s'mores. "Heh, look at those two. They look like they're in love. How disgusting is that?" Kiba said to his dog, Akamaru. "You obviously don't understand the concept of love." Sakura remarked. Kiba responded, "Whaddya mean I don't understand?!? At least I don't make a total idiot of myself, unlike that twerp Naruto!" Then... WHAM! Sakura gave him a goose egg the size of an apatasaurus egg. "Ow! (bleep), that smarts!" Kiba exclaimed. Sakura chastised him by saying, "You better shut the (bleep) up with your insults! I don't wanna hear you call him a twerp again!" Naruto and Mikame both stare at Sakura and Kiba because they were having a loud quarrel. Then Naruto went to pitch his tent. Mikame watched, her face turning slightly pink. "You like him, don't you?" Sakura asked. Mikame responded, "Well, he is a nice person, even when he gets somewhat mad." "Oh, I see." Sakura said, interested in Mikame's infatuation towards Naruto. Hinata, who was very quiet the whole journey, stared at Mikame as if she were a threat to Hinata's goal to win Naruto over. Then her face went red, but not from infatuation, but from anger and jealousy. "Are you envying someone right now?" Mikame asked. Hinata lied, "No. Why would I be?" "Because, I see a mixture of intimidation and anger in your eyes." Mikame replied. Then Hinata walked away, saying she was going to get some firewood.


	7. Arrival To The Land Of Beasts

The Darkest Night

All of a sudden, the night grew dark, darker that it usually would. The darkest clouds anyone saw covered up the moon so opaquely that not even a small sliver of the moonlight could shine through. While in his tent, Naruto grew frightened and held Mikame in his arms to comfort himself. She reassured him that everything will be all right. But then, the travelling shinobi heard a low, growling from outside the tent. Using her night vision, Mikame went out of the tent to see what was going on. There, she saw the other fox demons surrounding the camp. She told them that the people resting in the tents were the shinobi that had answered their distress call. A silver kitsune walked up and said in a female voice, "So, our prayers are finally answered. The Fox Prince has returned." The other kitsune lowered their heads in front of Naruto. Confused, he asked, "Uh, what's going on?" Mikame replied, "You are the son of the Queen of our tribe, Queen Kushina. The prophecy told them that the Fox Prince may return to us one day and save us all from complete annihilation at the hands of a power-hungry rebel who wishes to overthrow the Fox Queen. The Uzumaki family is a blue-blooded family."

All of a sudden, Kiba bursted out in laughter. "WHAT?!?!? Naruto?!? A prince?!? Oh, tell me she did not just say that! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!" He said. He rolled on the ground and then pounded his fists onto the ground, all the while he was laughing his butt off. "This is no joke, Kiba. Only a half-human of royal blood can survive being turned into a jinchuuriki." Mikame said as she was mounting one of the Kitsune. Then,. they trodded off towards the Fox Village.

* * *

An Unhappy Return

The Fox Village... Once a fertile land, filled with a massive and beautiful variety of flora (which is a scientific name for plants). But after Tatsuki started a rebellion and joined with Orochimaru, the land started to become barren. Naruto stared, unhappy that almost everything had died. "Oh, man, tell me this isn't the Fox Village." He said, very sadly. Mikame replied, "It is. When Orochimaru arrived here, the land became deprived of life. Now, the only memories our tribe has here...are sad and painful ones." Tears started to stream down Naruto's face as he stared at the almost-forsaken Fox Village before him.

Then a familiar voice spoke, "Naruto, why must you weep so, my precious child? The folk here have hope that you will save them from extinction." Naruto looked up and saw a sanguine-colored kitsune in front of him. She had the same kind look on her face that Naruto's mother had when she looked at him. In fact, that really was Naruto's mother in her original form. When Naruto looked at her, he recognized her almost immediately. "M-Mom? Mom!" He said, clutching to his mother's fur. He buried his face in her fur to keep the others from seeing him cry. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand felt really delicate. It was Roxanne's. "Naruto. It will be all right. Right now, let's focus on figuring out a way to save these folks." She said. "Naruto's crying because the Fox Village has been destroyed." Iruka said. "Grr. That (bleep)'s gonna pay for what they're doing Naruto's kin" Kakashi said, his clenched fist quivering with anger.

All of a sudden, Mikame felt a shock of electricity. "The Beast Crystal! Tatsuki may have done something wrong to it!" She exclaimed. Then she darted off. "Mikame, wait!" Sakura said, chasing after her. Shikamaru complained, also chasing after the two girls to see what they're up to, "Man, this journey's gonna be a big pain in my (bleep)." Soon, the other ninjas followed Mikame. They followed her to a peculiar-looking temple. The shinobi followed Mikame inside the temple. There, Mikame stopped, her eyes widened with fear. Before her was a pedestal with a black crystal on it. "No. He... took the power crystals... off the pedestal of the Beast Crystal." She said. Then she fell to her knees. "So, what's the big deal with this crystal?" Kiba asked. Mikame replied, "The Beast Crystal was the life-giver for the Land of Beasts. But it's useless without the 8 power crystals to provide energy. With the Beast Crystal dormant, the land is lost." Then tears streamed down her face. Naruto reassured her, "We'll get these crystals back here. Don't you worry. You know your way around the land?" "Yes. I go to all the parts of the Land of Beasts, including other parts of Demon Territory. I go the the places that are in distress." Mikame replied. "Then, you're gonna come with us. We need your help." Roxanne said.


	8. The First Power Stone

The First Power Stone

Mikame agreed. She said, "The closest place to Fox Village is Wolf Hollow. The climate there is rather cold. It almost always snows there, so don't stray from the group when you're caught in a blizzard. We'll start our search there." "Great, we're going to a snow-ridden little town full of talking wolves. What a drag. I ain't going." Shikamaru complained. Roxanne grabbed him by the ear and said, "We ARE going, you lazy, cowardly, pathetic excuse for a chunin! I don't wanna hear any whining! We're fighting for the lives of these people." Then she got closer to his face and continued, "They trust us, especially because we have a blue-blood among us shinobi. This gives the mission far higher stakes than ever before. We fail, and the whole world will fall. We don't want to back out now." "Aw man... you're very harsh." Shikamaru said. Then they packed up essentials for wintery climates of Wolf Hollow.

When they arrived, they saw that, like the Fox Village, Wolf Hollow's conditions were more abysmal than usual. The harsh cold was the norm for the place, but the natives have been enslaved. Their homes were no longer mildly decent to live in. There was no insulation, no roofs, no food, no water, the walls were rotting away, and the cubs never played. The natives were sad. Naruto asked one of them what happened and the wolf demon said that a black fox demon and a man came here and enslaved them. The black fox demon stood upright like a human, and the man had very pale skin, black hair, green snake-like eyes. Then he told Naruto that the two headed north to enslave more of the natives of the Land of Beasts.

The group of shinobi, led by Mikame, went northward to find Orochimaru and Tatsuki. Then they came across a blizzard. Mikame bit her thumb and performed the summoning jutsu. She summoned a heard of wooly mammoths. Naruto and his friends climbed on their backs and ventured across the blizzard, with the aid of Hinata's and Neji's Byakugan.

When they were out of the blizzards, Naruto saw the dastardly two, dismounted, and then chased after them. "Naruto! It is not safe! Come back here! Naruto!" Too late. Naruto did not return at all. The group got worried and decided to go after him. They came to some mines. When they entered, it was hotter than the flames of Hades. Then they heard a voice, "HEY!!! LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU (bleep)!!!!!!!!" "Okay, either I have heatstroke, or that's Naruto screaming his (bleep) head off." Kakashi said. Iruka paid attention to the voice. Then he said, "It is Naruto!" "What? That is Naruto?" Lee said. Neji used his Byakugan. Then he said, "Yes, that is him." "Typical idiot, getting himself in trouble!" Sakura said. Then they went to find a way to get Naruto out of that cell.

When they managed to free him, he was steaming. Roxanne had already gotten a route to the bottom of the mine. They took the route, which was hard to get through. They managed to get to the end of the road. They came across a monster with a stone in his hand. Roxanne took Mikame's staff to challenge the monster to a fght for the stone. The monster swallowed it, and the battle had begun.

The others acted as a diversion while Roxanne shot it in the stinger. The monster swallowed her. "SIS!!! NOOO!!!!!" Naruto shrieked as he saw her fall into the monster's mouth. Iruka wept hysterically. The others were sobbing quietly. It was the end of Roxanne. Or so they thought.

Here was Roxanne, inside the monster's guts. She saw the stone in the monster's uvula. She attacked it and suddenly felt a jolt. The monster threw her up. Roxanne was covered in gastric fluid, but she was alive. "SIS!!!!" Naruto exclaimed, happy to see she was alive. "YOU IDIOT!!!! WHAT THE (bleep) WERE YOU THINKING?!?!? ARE YOU TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE?!?!?" Shikamaru yelled. But the fight wasn't over yet. Roxanne noticed a weak spot in the monster's pectoral area. She attacked again. The monster swallowed her again. Again, they thought she had died this time. But Roxanne was still alive and attacked the uvula again. Then the monster threw her and the stone up, and then died of mortal wounds.

"You're not giving us a break on your crazy, death-defying acts of courage-- or should I say stupidity, are you?!?" Kakashi said. "But that's the reason I'm head over heels for Lady Roxanne! Her insanity makes me wild about her!" Iruka protested. Then they were on there way back to Fox Village.

* * *

As soon as Naruto and his allies got back, the natives of Fox Village were in even more distress than before. "What's going on?" Mikame asked. An old kitsune walked up to her, "My child, Queen Kushina's fallen ill from the injuries she's received when you left to retrieve the first stone." "Oh no!! Queen Kushina!" Mikame said. Then she ran to the fox palace. "Mikame, wait!" Naruto said. Mikame replied, "What?" "Let me come with you. She's my mom after all." Naruto said. Mikame consented.

Queen Kushina laid on her bed, near death, with bandages covering her torso and left rear leg. "Mom! Are you okay?!?" Naruto asked with pure concern for his demon mother's well-being. Mikame held his hand to give him comfort. "Naruto, my boy. Orochimaru attacked us while you and your friends went to retrieve the stone. They managed to kidnap my advisor's grandson. " Kushina replied. Mikame said, "All right. We'll get him back." "M-Mom. Please don't die." Naruto wept. "She won't. There's an herb used for kitsune medicine. It's called foxroot. It can only be found in dark, humid areas. There's a cave where they grow abundantly, independent of the power of the Beast Crystal. I'll take you there to find some." Then they went to find the herb.

They were in an underground cave. It was surprisingly warm, yet it felt even warmer from the humidity. Mikame got out a lantern of fireflies and searched for it. Soon enough, they gathered enough to heal the queen fox. They returned. The queen was in the same condition she was before they left. They feed the herb to her and she gained more of her consciousness back. "Thank you for saving me. Now, please save my advisor's grandson."


	9. The Rescue of the Advisor's Grandchild

Rescuing the Advisor's Son

Naruto and Mikame were by themselves that evening. "I've decided to go. Stay here and protect the village." Naruto said. Mikame responded, "Naruto, I'm not going to let you go off by yourself. I want to come too." "No. It's too dangerous. I'm not about to let anything bad happen to you or your home." Naruto said. Mikame said, regretting her agreement to stay, "All right. But before you go, there's something I want to tell you." "Yeah?" Naruto asked. Mikame replied, "Before I left, I wanted to tell you this. Your mother and my father betrothed us when we were babies. But that's not why I want to be close to you. That's not my only reason. I want to tell you that... I love you, Naruto. I always have, and I always will." Then she held his hand. "Mikame..." Naruto said, shocked by what Mikame just said. Then he said, "I love you too." Then they kissed. Mikame said, tearfully, "Be careful." Then she went to bed.

In her room, Mikame was sobbing on her pillow. A little triceratops hopped onto her bed to console her. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked. Mikame replied, "Oh, Tricky. Naruto left to save the grandson of the Fox Queen's Advisor, and I couldn't go with him. I'm scared that he'll die before he fulfills his dream if becoming Hokage. If he does die, then... (snf) I don't know what I'll do with my life then." Then she hugged him. Tricky said, "Hey, come on! Don't cry. After all, this is Naruto we're talking about. He will survive. Orochimaru actually failed to kill him one time because of the Fifth Hokage's help. He's a tough guy with a good heart. He'll live." "Oh, if only I could believe that." Mikame said. Then she murmered, "Why do I constantly worry about him?" She cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was busy fighting near a volcano. One of the monsters managed to make him lose his balance and fall into the volcano. However, a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him up.

Naruto's savior in that moment was a boy with wild hair as red as Kushina's fur, with lime green eyes. He had a slightly hostile look on his face when he saw Naruto, as if Naruto was his enemy. He too wore tribal clothing. "Who are you and why the heck did you save me?" Naruto asked. The boy responded, "Why are you asking such a stupid question, Uzumaki-yarou?" Naruto shouted, "WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!? COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU LOUSY---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "I don't have to. You heard me loud and clear, Naruto." The boy said in a snotty tone. "Okay, how do you know my name?" Naruto asked. The boy answered, "Because, I'm Nibata Uzumaki, your half-brother." Naruto exclaimed, "H-half-brother?!? Nobody told me I had a brother!" "HALF-brother! You were never my brother and you'll never be one, you dirty little half-breed!" Nibata shouted.

This nearly brought Naruto to tears. _Half-breed? Is that all I am, a half-breed?_ Naruto thought. Then they went down to the belly of the volcano. In it, they saw a little baby kitsune. "That must be the advisor's grandson. Let's get him out of here." Naruto said. "You go your way, half-breed, and I'll go mine." Nibata said. Naruto responded, "Don't call me that!!!!"

When Naruto approached the young demon kit, he asked, "Hey, are you the grandson of Queen Kushina's advisor?" "Yeah. Did they ask you to rescue me?" The demon kit asked. Naruto replied, "Yeah. The name's Naruto Uzumaki." "You're Queen Kishina's youngest and the sole heir to her throne! No wonder Nibata hates you! My name's Kimaru." The demon kit said in excitemtent. He held out his paw as a friendly gesture and Naruto shook it.

Then some more Sound Ninjas came. The two were surrounded and Nibata refused to be around to save them. All of a sudden, an orange anthropomorphic fox came and whacked the enemies into unconsciousness with a staff. He wore strange attire. "The name's Fox McCloud. Are you two all right?" The animal-like stranger asked Naruto and Kimaru. "Yeah, we're okay. I could've gotten them." Naruto bragged. Fox chuckled. "Hey, Nibata! We got Kimaru back!" Naruto shouted from the belly of the volcano. Nibata refused to lower the rope down. "HEY!!!! ARE YOU GONNA LEAVE US DOWN HERE TO DIE OF A HEASTROKE?!?!?" Naruto screamed. Nibata replied, "Yes. I can't let you have the throne." Then he left.

Fox decided to help the ninja and the demon kit. He grabbed the two, pointed his staff at the ground and they lifted off out of the volcano. Nibata was surprised and angry that they got out. But he didn't show it. Then they managed to return.

When they got back, the other village natives were waiting. "Grandpa!!" Kimaru shouted happily. The advisor ran towards his adorable little grandson and nuzzled him. "Thank you, Naruto." The advisor said, his head set downward. "You don't have to bow to me. I was just doing my job." Naruto said, gathering his humility. Then the advisor turned to Nibata and said, "I heard you attempted to leave the boy to die down there. Your mother will not be pleased."


	10. The Second Power Stone

The Second Power Stone

"You tried to leave your younger brother to die, Nibata. I'm ashamed. I thought you had good enough sense to protect him" Kushina scolded. Nibata retorted, "Half-brother" "I don't care if he isn't fully your brother by blood, he is still your brother and you should've come to his aid." Kushina said. Then she turned to Fox, "Thank you for saving Naruto, kind sir. May I inquire for your name?" "It's Fox McCloud. You don't have to call me 'Sir'. I'm not that old." Fox answered. Kushina chuckled. She then peered out of her hut at Naruto and Kimaru playing. "Hm. Naruto seems to have immediately won favor of my people. He gave back what Orochimaru and Tatsuki took away, and that is hope for a brighter future." She said. Fox agreed. Nibata scowled.

When they went out of the hut, they saw Naruto lying there, laughing his head off while Kimaru started yanking and pulling on his sleeve. "Stop it, Kimaru! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!! Cut it out! Ha ha ha ha, quit yanking on my hair!" Naruto said. Then the demon kit decided to go into Naruto's clothing and crawl around. That put Naruto into a raging fit of laughter. Naruto shouted, "AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!! WHAT THE (bleep) ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?!?!? THAT TICKLES!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" "Pfft. What an idiot." Nibata muttered under his breath. Then Kimaru popped out of Naruto's left pant leg.

Mikame walked out of Queen Kushina's home to tell Naruto the whereabouts of the second power stone. "It's at Mt. Hiyama." She said. Naruto responded, "That's a dangerous place." "Why?" Kiba asked. Akamaru barked as if asking the same question. "Mt. Hiyama is the most active volcano in the Land of Beasts. Sometimes fire itself will shoot up from the top. The rivers around there are lava, so swimming's out of the question." Naruto replied. "Then how do cross those rivers when we need to?" Hinata asked. Naruto replied, "Those rivers have stepping stones. But I wouldn't recommend walking on them with bare feet. You'll get third degree foot burns." "How do you know that?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto replied, "Tried it. I thought it was cool at the time. Turns out it was stupid. Enough talk, we got a Power Stone to return." Then off to Mt. Hiyama they went.

When they were there, it was like a trip to Io, Saturn's most volcanically active moon. There was lava flowing wherever you went. Then they saw a large volcano with smoke billowing out of it. They went up there, because the second Power Stone was inside. "Oh, man! The heat is such a drag!" Shikamaru complained. Ino agreed, "Yeah, and it stinks! What 's that smell?" "It's the sulfur in the volcano. Sulfur has a tendency to stink, Ino." Naruto said. Before they knew it, they were at the center of the volcano. In front of them shone a blue gem that only glowed brighter when Naruto got closer. "That's the second Power Stone." Naruto said. When Naruto got the Power Stone, a great rumpling shook the volcano. Lava started to rise a quite a speed. "Let's get out of here!" Naruto said. Everyone exited the volcano, but there was no way off the lava-surrounded island. Suddenly, they hear a screech. It was a pterodactyl, large as a jumbo jet. Naruto and his allies climbed on the dinosaur's back and flew off back to Fox Village. There was an explosion after they had departed.


End file.
